Payment & Cancellation Policy
By booking with Carolina Cruising Charters, you agree to the policies below. These policies allow us to provide a safe, professional, and reliable private charter experience on Lake Norman.
Payment Policy
Full payment is required at the time of booking to reserve your private vessel. This allows us to secure your licensed captain, schedule crew, and prepare your experience in advance.
Standard Cancellation Policy (Non-Holiday Dates)
We understand plans may change. Outside of weather-related cancellations, the following policy applies:
- All bookings include a 10% non-refundable portion (covers captain scheduling, preparation, administrative time, and processing fees).
- Refunds or credits are based on how far in advance your cancellation occurs prior to your scheduled charter time.
Time Before Charter | Policy |
|---|---|
30+ days (720+ hours)
|
Rebook once or receive a 90% refund/credit (less taxes and fees) |
14–30 days (336–720 hours)
| Rebook once or receive an 80% refund/credit (less taxes and fees) |
7–14 days (168–336 hours)
| 60% refund/credit (less taxes and fees) |
3–7 days (72–168 hours)
| 40% refund/credit (less taxes and fees) |
0–3 days (0–72 hours)
| No refunds or changes, unless Carolina Cruising Charters cancels due to unsafe weather or operational concerns |
All refunds and credits exclude taxes, fees, and optional add-ons.
Rebooking applies to the overall reservation once during the same calendar year and does not permit rescheduling to Holiday dates, swapping boats or reducing charter duration.
Rebooking is permitted once per reservation and must occur more than 14 days before your scheduled charter date.
Weather Interruptions & Early Returns
The safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority. Our U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captains continuously monitor weather conditions, including radar, lightning, wind, and other hazards throughout your charter. The captain has the sole authority to determine if weather conditions require delaying, pausing, or ending a charter early.
Lake Norman weather can change quickly, and passing showers or storms are often temporary. Whenever it is safe and practical to do so, your captain may temporarily pause the charter and wait for weather to pass at a marina, waterfront restaurant, island, dock, or other safe location before continuing the charter. The location selected will be at the captain’s sole discretion based on safety, weather conditions, vessel operation, and availability. Our goal is always to safely resume your charter whenever conditions allow rather than end the experience early. Time spent waiting due to weather is considered part of your reserved charter time.
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If weather conditions make it unsafe to continue and your charter must return to the marina early:
- Charters ending within the final 60 minutes of the scheduled charter are considered substantially completed, and no credit or refund will be issued.
- If your charter ends more than 60 minutes early due solely to weather, you will receive a prorated charter credit for the unused charter time, calculated using the base hourly charter rate (excluding taxes, fees, gratuity, add-ons, concierge fees, reservation protection, and optional purchases).
- Credits are valid through December 31 of the current calendar year, are non-transferable, have no cash value, and may only be applied toward a future Carolina Cruising Charters reservation.
- If scheduling and weather conditions permit, Carolina Cruising Charters may, at its sole discretion, extend your charter later the same day in lieu of issuing a credit.
Weather-related credits apply only when a charter is shortened due to unsafe weather conditions as determined by your captain. Credits are not provided for guest-elected early returns, changes in weather preference, overcast conditions, cooler temperatures, light or intermittent rain that does not create unsafe operating conditions, or other weather-related concerns that do not require terminating the charter.
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By completing your reservation, you acknowledge that boating is an outdoor activity and that weather conditions—including rain, wind, cloud cover, changing temperatures, and occasional delays—are an inherent part of the experience. Charters operate in a wide range of weather conditions, and refunds or credits are not provided solely because weather conditions differ from personal expectations. All weather-related operational decisions, including whether to delay, pause, resume, reroute, or terminate a charter, are made solely by Carolina Cruising Charters and its U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain in the interest of safety and are final.
Reservation Protection (Optional Add-On)
Reservation Protection is offered during checkout and provides added flexibility and peace of mind before your charter begins.
With Reservation Protection, you may:
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- Cancel for any reason up to 48 hours before your scheduled departure (non-holiday reservations) and receive either:
- A refund (less applicable taxes, processing fees, and the cost of Reservation Protection), or
- A full-value reservation credit, including all taxes, fees, and the cost of Reservation Protection, valid for one rebooking within the same calendar year (through December 31).
- Modify or cancel your reservation within the standard 14-day cancellation window, provided your request is made at least 48 hours prior to departure and the reservation is not during a designated company holiday.
- If Carolina Cruising Charters cancels before your charter begins due to unsafe weather, Reservation Protection allows you to choose either:
- A refund (less taxes, fees, and the cost of Reservation Protection), or
- A full-value reservation credit, including all taxes, fees, and the cost of Reservation Protection.
Each vessel in a multi-boat reservation must have its own Reservation Protection plan to receive coverage.
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Please note:
- The 48-hour cancel-for-any-reason benefit does not apply to designated company holidays, as holiday reservations are non-cancellable.
- If Reservation Protection was purchased for a designated holiday reservation, it still provides refund protection if Carolina Cruising Charters cancels before departure due to unsafe weather.
- Reservation Protection applies only before your charter begins. Once your charter has commenced, Reservation Protection benefits no longer apply to weather-related interruptions or early returns.
- If unsafe weather develops after your charter has started, all accommodations are governed exclusively by the Weather Interruptions & Early Returns policy. Any eligible accommodations will be limited to those described in that policy, including prorated future charter credits for unused charter time when applicable.
- Reservation Protection does not provide refunds if weather interrupts your charter after departure.
- Reservation Protection covers full-trip cancellations only and does not modify, expand, or enhance the Weather Interruptions & Early Returns policy.
- Reservation Protection does not apply to gift card purchases.
- Reservation Protection does not permit changes to custom-created departure times or non-standard time slots once booked.
Custom Charter Times & Non-Standard Time Slots
Custom-created charter times outside of our published standard departure windows are specially reserved and priced at our full charter rates.
Once booked, custom time slots are final and cannot be changed, rescheduled, or transferred to another departure day, time or boat, regardless of whether Reservation Protection was purchased. Standard cancellation and refund provisions may still apply, but the reserved custom time slot itself cannot be modified.
Holiday Booking Policy
Holiday bookings are non-refundable and cannot be rescheduled once booked, except in the event that Carolina Cruising Charters cancels due to weather or operational concerns.
If a holiday booking is canceled by CCC:
- Guests with Reservation Protection will receive a full refund (less taxes, fees, and the Reservation Protection cost) or a full-value credit (including all taxes, fees, and Reservation Protection cost) to rebook once within the same calendar year.
- Guests without Reservation Protection will receive a credit only to reschedule once within the same calendar year—no refunds are provided.
- Cancellation credits, whether made on Holidays or standard days, cannot be rebooked to future Holiday availabilities.
Designated Company Holidays (2026 Season):
- Easter (Apr 3–6)
- Mother’s Day (May 8–10)
- Memorial Day (May 22–25)
- Father’s Day / Juneteenth (Jun 19–21)
- Independence Day (Jul 2–5)
- Labor Day (Sep 4–7)
- Columbus Day (Oct 9–12)
- Thanksgiving (Nov 26–29)
(Holiday dates are updated annually and may vary slightly.)
Additional Terms
- Ticket reselling or transferring is prohibited and will result in immediate charter termination without refund.
- No refunds or credits are issued for unused add-ons (e.g., watersports or equipment).
- Incorrect or Changed Pickup Addresses:
- Additional travel or fuel charges may apply for any approved location changes.
- If a pickup location is unsafe, inaccessible by boat, or not feasible for any other reason, the reservation may be treated as a no-show with no refund.
- A minimum 10% administrative fee applies if logistics must be updated after booking details have been finalized, subject to feasibility.
- In such cases, guests may be required to meet at one of our designated marinas, forfeiting any lost travel time.
- Switching Between Boats or Marinas:
- Once confirmed, your boat and marina selections are final.
- No changes are permitted within 14 days unless you have Reservation Protection.
- Guests with Reservation Protection may request changes up to 48 hours before departure (subject to availability and pricing).
- Important Charter Disclaimer – Failure to follow safety instructions, captain requests, or company policies may result in immediate charter termination without refund. Carolina Cruising Charters reserves the right to charge for damages, excessive cleanup, lost equipment, and violations of policies, including related administrative and processing fees.
- Chargebacks & Payment Disputes:
By completing a booking, you agree to this Payment Dispute policy: You agree not to initiate a credit card chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or payment provider without first contacting our company in writing to allow us a reasonable opportunity to resolve this matter. If a chargeback is initiated against a payment that is validly owed under these terms, the customer will be liable for the original booking amount plus any associated banking fees, administrative costs, and collections costs, including reasonable legal fees, incurred by the company to recover the funds. - Credits remain valid through December 31 of the same calendar year, and are non-transferable — they must be used solely by the individual to whom they were originally issued and cannot be shared, reassigned, or transferred to another party